ZBA-26-5 — 59 Optical Ave. bus depot variance
Keene
Description
A continued public hearing on a variance to let a school bus company use the Industrial Park building for dispatch, office, bus storage, and routine maintenance. The applicant moved bus storage away from homes and eliminated bus traffic on the Marlboro Street extension; neighbors remain opposed on air quality and hardship grounds. No vote is recorded in the minutes provided.
Impact summary
The Board of Adjustment denied it on Aug 3, 2026.
If approved, expect roughly 25+ buses staging each school morning near a residential neighborhood — with noise, diesel exhaust and traffic as the core neighborhood concerns.
Applicant
- Name
- JP Irving, LLC
- Address
- 59 Optical Ave., Keene, NHSee this on the map
At a glance
- Hearings
- 3
- Public comments
- 25
- Total mentions
- 3
Last vote · Board of Adjustment
Last discussed Aug 3, 2026.
Meeting timeline (3)
Zoning Board of Adjustment - Aug 3, 2026
The company wanted to store and maintain its Keene school buses at the vacant 59 Optical Ave. building, with dispatch and office space, in the Industrial Park District. After three hearings and a revised site plan, the board unanimously denied the variance.
Zoning Board of Adjustment - Jul 6, 2026
A variance to allow dispatch, office, bus storage and routine maintenance for about 38 school buses in the Industrial Park District. The applicant moved bus storage 500 feet from the nearest homes, but neighbors still pushed back hard, and the hearing was continued to August 3.
Zoning Board of Adjustment - Jun 1, 2026
JP Irving, LLC wants a variance to let Student Transportation of America run a bus dispatch office, storage yard for roughly 25 buses, and indoor routine maintenance at a vacant 53,000-square-foot industrial building. The use isn't allowed in the Industrial Park District, and the hearing was continued to July 6 so the applicant can address neighborhood concerns.
Related issues (2)
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